Pyro Hedgehog4ever: Thanks; I do my best to keep everyone as much in character as possible ;)

Treasurehunter: (grins) I'm glad I had Knuckles' translation for that...and yep, it's continued :P

Saffra: Thanks for reviewing; I'm glad you like it :D

FriedBrickWall: The Chaotix...you'll have to wait and see; you know I never give any of the story away ;) I'll tell you this much though; they won't have a very large part. This story's starting to draw to a close (sniffles) in preparation for the next ones :P (Knuckles: Is it my fault that I've never been snuggled by a two-tailed fox kid before?) Ignore him. He's still in shock; that's all I've been getting from him all day. (Knuckles: Well, if a certain person had thought to install seatbelts on the back shelf of their car—) Ignore that as well. He's also been in a foul mood ever since I pulled out of my apartment and he rolled off the shelf onto the back seat. Three times.

Guardian's Log no. 11464

Why the hell did I do that? The kid could have walked perfectly well on his own; why did I just pick him up and carry him like that?

He didn't weigh a lot. Granted that's not worth much from someone like me – not when I've uprooted trees singlehandedly without feeling it – but he's even lighter than he should be. I guess that's not too surprising though; his appetite's still a little erratic, even now. Bereavement sure makes people react in strange ways, even two months down the line.

Two months. That really is a sobering thought. I don't like to think of how much time we wasted in the mountains either; tunnelling through what amounted to an entire mountain range wasn't one of my best ideas, I have to admit. And Tails' inventions weren't a lot of help. If bereavement makes him construct lethal machinery – lethal to me, that is – maybe I should've waited a few months before giving him that toolbox.

Just thought of something; maybe I should have warned the Chaotix as well, told them to watch out for ballistic constructions. I admit I felt guilty about leaving Tails with them, but this is the best chance I'm going to get to spy out Robotnik's fortress, and I don't want it jeopardised by the kid and his thoughts of revenge.

Uncomfortable thought: what if Tails tries to follow me? That only just occurred to me. Hm. Maybe I should've been a little more explicit in that message I left for him. I'm sure he can handle it though; he's not stupid.

--Knuckles the Echidna

Dear Diary

I helped Knuckles tunnel out of that cave! Well...I sort of did. The Mole crashed, Knux put a ban on my building and launching any more rockets down a tunnel if he's in it and...well, the Hose Machine didn't work out quite as I'd planned either. I don't know what Knuckles was complaining about though; that jet of battery acid missed him, didn't it?

Anyway, we got out and I got him to carry me to...wherever we are. That was a shock; I was half asleep and when he suggested carrying me I just automatically held up my arms like I would've done with Sonic. I never expected Knuckles of all people to actually do it.

Where am I? Well, I think I know the answer to that; I think I'm in the cave that Knuckles was talking about. He said something about Bridge Night and ridges. I wonder if we're any closer to his friends yet?

--Tails

When Tails woke up, the first thing he noticed was that he was lying on a bed, with the second being that he was ravenously hungry. However, both of these realisations were eclipsed by the third one; namely that Knuckles was nowhere to be seen.

Getting to his feet, Tails padded over to the arch.

Guess Knuckles and me made it after all.

There was a slight rustle of something moving against the stone outside and Tails edged back, glancing around for help.

"Knuckles? Knuckles, is that you?"

A buzzing sound made him suck in his breath and back off further; the noise sounded a lot like a buzz bomber. It drew nearer and the fox tensed. Maybe Knuckles had messed up somehow. Maybe they'd been captured by Robotnik.

Movement snapped Tails' attention to the left and his fist seemed to act of its own volition, flying around to smash the source hard in the face. There was a high-pitched sound a little like an air-raid siren as the guilty party was propelled it backwards until it crashed into the wall and dropped to the ground. Wincing, it got to its feet and jammed its fists onto what – for want of a better word – could loosely be called its hips.

"Heeyy! That was mean! You didn't have to do that!"

Tails squared into a combat stance, staring at the bee, breathing rapidly.

"Who are you? Why am I here? What did you do with Knuckles?"

"My name is Deathsting the Almighty Bringer of Doom, you are here to perish through starvation and thus serve as a warning to all those who encroach upon my domain and Knuckles has abandoned you to my tender mercies in order to sacrifice his life to Robotnik and claim all the glory for himself through the resultant martyrdom!" the bee intoned, striking a dramatic pose, and a red and black armadillo promptly made him a liar on all three counts by coming in and saying, "Charmy, come help me bring the kid's lunch in, and Espio says we better save some for Knuckles when he gets back from his walk and..." He paused, frowning slightly. "What's wrong, you got cramp?"

Charmy abandoned the dramatic pose and glared at him.

"Thanks a lot, Mighty! You sure know how to ruin the moment!"

Tails glanced from one to the other, not entirely sure when the balance had shifted.

"Where am I?"

"Safe. Here." Mighty took a plate that was liberally stacked with chili dogs from the sulking Charmy and handed it to Tails. "Espio picked these up for you. You'd better eat 'em quick; Vector's been shovelling them down his throat like there's no tomorrow."

Tails stared as though he'd never seen food before, then grabbed a chili dog in each hand and tried to cram them both into his mouth simultaneously.

"Alright, alright, not that quick," Mighty said, somewhat taken aback by the fox's voracity.

"Sry, fjft—" Tails swallowed, choked, coughed up and swallowed a second time and tried again. "It's just I haven't had these for ages." He looked up at Mighty, frowning slightly. "I...know you. Don't I?" he added, turning it into a question.

"Sure, we've met," Mighty said easily. "You and Sonic stopped by my place for chili dogs one time. It was something of a flying visit, though, so I can understand how you might've forgotten." His expression became more sombre. "Tails, is it true? About Sonic? Is he really gone?"

Tails looked away morosely and replaced his third chili dog. He'd just lost his appetite.

"I take it that's a yes," Mighty added delicately. Tails nodded once and the armadillo shifted his gaze to the floor. "Damn. That's rough. That's real rough. I'm sorry."

Tails looked up at him.

"You knew Sonic? Really knew him?"

"You could say that. We grew up together, at least until I was ten and took off to explore on my own. Sonic had...other friends by then."

"I know. He told me about Robotnik."

Mighty looked at him in obvious surprise.

"He did? That's not like Sonic; he always played that one very close to his chest. The only reason I know is because he damn near ran me over on the way out of Robotnik's lab."

"Well..." Tails swung his legs. "He didn't really. Well, he sort of did; Knux confronted him with it and Sonic confessed. I dunno how Knuckles knew though."

"He knew because I told him." Catching sight of the fox's expression, Mighty snorted. "I wanted to get out before the crap hit the fan and I'd seen this floating island on my travels. I persuaded a friend to let me borrow his glider and went up there to hide. That's where I met Knuckles; I told him what Sonic had told me because I was too dazed and panicked to think straight."

Tails stared at him.

"You told Knuckles about Sonic? He was your friend."

"I'm not proud of it," Mighty said bitterly.

"Then if he knew Robotnik was evil, why'd he believe him when he said Sonic was going to steal the Master Emerald?"

"He wasn't called Robotnik then. I met him once with Sonic, and he was going by the name Dr Kintobor before the accident. If he'd given Knuckles that name, I don't doubt he'd have been thrown off the island. As it was, all Knux had to go on was the name Sonic, and he already knew someone by that name had had a major hand in starting the conflict on the surface."

"Knuckles said he saw Sonic though. He said he saw a blue streak running away."

Mighty shrugged.

"He probably did. Knuckles isn't a great one for making things up. But like I said, the only reason he knows the truth about Sonic is because I gave it to him. He's never told anyone else, if that's what's got you worried."

Tails picked up the chilli dog, turned it over and over in his hands thoughtfully, then snapped it up in three bites.

"When's Knuckles coming back?" he said, around a mouthful of sausage and bun.

Mighty shrugged again.

"I don't know. Knuckles isn't a big one for timekeeping. Couple hours, maybe?" Seeing the fox's worried expression, Mighty rubbed his shoulder. "Look, he'll be fine. I know Knux. That guy's a born survivor if ever there was one."

The born survivor, had he been able to hear this, would have disputed this claim strongly. Knuckles had been in Robotnik's fortress for three hours and in a thoroughly foul mood for two and a half.

This last wasn't as common an occurrence as some people might think; even Tails' alarming behaviour in making physical contact with the echidna whenever the fox was asleep hadn't irritated Knuckles. Freaked him out big-time, but not irritated him.

"You just have to guard the Master Emerald, Knuckles," he muttered, in a passable imitation of his mother's voice. "Just stay there the whole time and never leave Angel Island no matter what. It's a huge responsibility and a tough one, but you'll have to rise to the challenge."

He sighed again. He'd failed on both counts; Robotnik had stolen the Master Emerald once (and tried again a few more times) and Knuckles had abandoned his duty to go treasure-hunting with Sonic and Tails.

The echidna kicked the metal wall in a rare display of pique, leaving a sizeable dent. Not for the first time, he thought rather resentfully that it must be nice to be Sonic or Tails, able to take off whenever and wherever the fancy took them, every day a new adventure, new experiences.

Pausing to punch out a robot almost automatically, Knuckles stared down at the remains.

"Did it never occur to anyone that I might want a life of my own as well?" he demanded stridently.

The robot didn't answer. It was ignorant of the concept of philosophy or sacred duties or obligations of honour, and with a gaping hole in its head, it was ignorant of everything else as well.

Getting in had proved surprisingly easy. Omega had helped him out – the old let-me-through-I've-got-a-prisoner worked every time, or at least this time – and then abandoned him to his own devices.

Knuckles ground his teeth in frustration. That 'worthless consumer model' was going to find itself in a heap of trouble when the echidna got back to the CDA.

If you get back, right Knuckles?

The echidna grimaced. That was a good point...although if the empty corridors were anything to go by, getting out shouldn't be too hard.

Knuckles snorted. Yeah, right. There was an old echidna proverb; if your enemy's stronghold is empty, it's usually because he's making room for something large and unwelcome. At the moment, though, there was nothing more large or unwelcome in this corridor than a spherical switch. And since a puggle's attitude towards anything unrelated to echidna culture could best be summed up in the phrase when in doubt, whack it, and since Knuckles had never really had the opportunity to learn what constituted the viewpoint of a mature (or at least adolescent) echidna, he hit the switch hard and the earth and the sky promptly switched places.

Nine times out of ten, this is a romantic way of saying that someone went arse over head. But in this case, it was the literal truth; gravity abruptly reversed itself and Knuckles rose (fell?) to land squarely on the ceiling/floor...not to mention his head. Getting to his feet and rubbing his sore skull, Knuckles glowered into the empty corridor.

"What the hell kind of screwed up place is this?" he yelled.

The answer was obvious; Robotnik's kind of screwed up place. Knowing it didn't do much to improve the echidna's temper.

Well, at least this gave him the opportunity to sneak around some more. People didn't usually expect to find upside-down echidnas walking on the ceiling after all.

Yeah, right, a nasty little voice inside him whispered. Robotnik built everything in this place, including that switch. You don't think that there's a slight chance that he may know what it does?

Knuckles considered this, decided the little voice was right and didn't much like coming to that conclusion.

A new and unpleasant thought struck him; if he left the fort, would his gravity realign itself or would he end up floating up through the atmosphere?

Carefully, he took a step forward. It was safe; he wasn't about to fall...at least, not unless he hit another one of those switches.

Gaining confidence with every step, Knuckles continued on down the corridor. He didn't have the faintest idea where he was going or what he was going to do when he got there, but anything was better than sitting around waiting for Robotnik to come and collect him.

Knuckles kept walking for ten minutes, then fifteen, then twenty and still didn't see any robots, something which unnerved him more than an army would have done.

Did Robotnik know he was here? Probably; the doc's security measures were second to none. But if that was the case, then why hadn't he sent one of his minions to capture or kill the echidna, or...hell, or even come himself; Knuckles knew full well that when it came to destroying him, Sonic or Tails, Robotnik subscribed to the old school of thought of never asking his minions to do anything he wasn't happy – if not positively ecstatic – about doing himself.

He rounded a corner and came face to face with what looked like a vent in the floor. The appearance of anything other than the smooth corridor caught the echidna by surprise and he'd already half climbed the nearest wall before reality managed to get his attention and he dropped back down with an uncharacteristically sheepish expression.

Well, why not?

Knuckles jumped down the hole, flaring his spines in a glide. It was a very graceful motion, and therefore unfortunate that it inadvertently finished on a switch which promptly dumped the echidna unceremoniously onto the ground (ceiling?) again. Wincing, he got to his feet.

"I'm getting very tired of this," he muttered under his breath, then looked around at the new room he'd crash-landed into and forgot what he'd said; his own personal discomfort didn't seem like much compared to what he was looking at now. Boxes three feet by three were stacked four deep along the walls, boxes with barred doors.

Not boxes; cells, Knuckles realised. He'd thought at first they were storage crates; the idea that there could be people forced inside these boxes had been too horrifying to enter his head. Mercifully, most were empty, and the ones that weren't...the echidna could see that the occupants were beyond help. The majority were dead, and as he stared at one body – this person had been tortured to death by the look of it – there was a soft rustle of movement and as his eyes became accustomed to the gloom, he could pick out a boiling mass of maggots, churning and wriggling in ecstasy as they chewed on the dead flesh.

Knuckles couldn't help himself. He half turned, staggered away a few steps, then bent double and threw up his guts. After that he avoided looking into any of the crates.

There was a large containment chamber at the far end of the room, one which was shaped like a tube and which contained nothing but metal grille and a central column inside. Knuckles wasn't too sure about the reasoning behind that second one, but it seemed a much safer bet than any of the boxes, and so he started towards it.

When he reached the outside, he saw that it also contained people, the worst of Robotnik's prisoners. Most of them were lying on the ground, too weak from torture and lack of food to move or even raise their heads to look at Knuckles as he approached the glass. Looking around, sickened to the heart by what he saw, the echidna noticed several more people on the ground, lying still. Knuckles had only ever seen people that still when movement was no longer an option. A few – and the echidna was immensely grateful that there was nothing in his stomach to come up – were in the early stages of decomposition.

Well, even if he hadn't managed to work out what to do about Robotnik yet, he could damn well do something about these poor people! The Chaotix could shelter them, even if he had to pay them out of his own hoard (which, Knuckles admitted, was very likely).

Knuckles drew back one fist and slammed it into the glass...which held just fine, thankyou very much, without so much as a slight quiver.

The echidna stared, completely at a loss. He'd grown so used to his strength being able to handle everything that he had no idea how to cope with it being balked so seamlessly.

It was time to switch to Plan B, which was to come up damn quickly with a Plan C. Knuckles examined the glass. Not a mark, not a join or seam, nothing to show how this giant tube was put together.

There must be something I can do. Robotnik put them in there, which means there must be some way to take them out again.

Keeping his voice low, he said, "Hey."

There was no immediate response. A couple of the prisoners glanced up at him, so Knuckles knew the glass wasn't soundproof, but none of them answered.

"Where's the switch?" the echidna asked. "The switch to open the door, where is it?"

Silence. This time none of them bothered even looking at him. Knuckles shook his head, frustrated.

"Look, Robotnik's sentries are probably going to be here any second. Tell me where the switch is and I can get you out of this!"

One of the prisoners sitting against the column raised a haggard, desolate face to his.

"Can you, Knuckles." It wasn't a question; it was a derogatory sneer.

The echidna stared at the stranger, forehead creased into a slight frown.

"How'd you know my name?"

The prisoner didn't answer. Those three words seemed to have exhausted him completely. Instead he just continued staring; Knuckles doubted the poor guy had the energy to blink.

Something suddenly clicked in his mind and his jaw dropped open.

"Holy crap," he said hoarsely. "Sonic?"

A/N: I almost never comment on my own stuff, but in this case I'll do it to forestall the likely squawkings; for the record, I'm not doing this on a whim, it was planned right from the beginning. If you don't believe me, re-read the summary; it says Sonic was only presumed dead ;)

Anyway, if you read this and wanna find out more about what's happening, please leave a review :P I know this was a pretty short chapter, but the next one's a lot longer, I promise :) Besides, how could I not leave it at this point? weg